There's a plywood walkway from the rear deck of our rented house to the garage. Saturday night, while letting the dogs out, while barefoot, I stepped into the raised head of one of the nails that (sort of) holds the plywood down.:eek: :eek: :eek: The pain was truly remarkable. I bent the rim of our copper firebowl with my hands. The head of the nail tore into the side of the pad of my foot below my 4th and 5th toes. I may never go barefoot again.:cry:

My name is Nikolaus (or Nik or Niko). I already made an introductory thread, but I just wanted to make a quick post in here. I am over in Happy Valley, off of Sunnyside Road, about ~20 miles outside of Portland.

I am picking up my new (to me) bike tomorrow, so I can finally start riding. :) I will post pictures when I have it.

Hello Pete, Nik, and Gregg--

Pete, that sounds extremely painful. I think I would keep the shoes on too!

Gregg, how far south do you get? Interurban/GRT/Cedar River Trail? What are you riding?

East Hill

Just created my account and thought I'd check in on this thread.

I live in Sherwood, OR. A checkup at the doctor's office convinced me to lose some weight and lower my cholesterol, so I changed my diet and dragged my old 1984 Schwinn World out of the garage (hadn't ridden in about 15+ years) and got it tuned up at the bike shop. I started riding a mile or two at a time around town and then gradually started taking longer rides to nearby towns. I recently started riding my bike to work and back (~9.5 mi each way) and I'm loving it.

Anyway, I've lost about 30 pounds in 3 months (now at 5'11" 176 lbs) and am having a great time doing it on my bike.

Hey sherwoodforest, take some photos of the Schwinn World and join us over at the Classic & Vintage forum:) . Welcome to Bike Forums!

East Hill

Usually just head east out towards the cascades or around town (gilman trail). I don't get off the pavement too often. Right now riding a Lemond Reno, but just ordered a Specialized Allez Elite. Pretty excited for that to get here. And my good ol' northwaves with some look pedals.

I have not tried this yet but I am thinking about it :D Welcome and congrats now quit bragging ;)
V

LOL! Poor choice of words on my part, 'cause my wife would give me five across the eyes for even thinking about such a thing! :o

NW Portland
 

I live in NW Portland on NW Cornell Rd & 26 Hwy. I commute about 11 miles to downtown and 11 miles back. It's a great ride.

Nice to meet you khuon and everybody else from Seattle. I'm Matt and I will be moving from Japan to the area in a couple weeks. As the wife will have the car, I need to commute to the UW campus by bike on weekdays and therefore looking into a safe, direct shot to the campus, other than the Burke-Gilman trail. Would GREATLY appreciate any local suggestions for a fellow roadie!

We are tentatively targeting to drop anchor in either the Lynnwood/Mountlake Terrace area or Eastern Bellvue, either way about a 15 mile commute each direction.

Does anybody know if the floating Evergreen Bridge (520) has a bike lane or allows cyclists?

Thanks!!

There is no bike lane or any way to get a bike accross 520 other than getting on a bus.

Hello Matt, welcome to Puget Sound :) . 520 does not allow cyclists, as woodinville guy pointed out, but the I-90 floating bridge does have a bicycle/pedestrian lane. If you want to have some fun later when you get settled in, you can ride around Lake Washington, crossing the floating bridge, and get some great exercise on the hills of Mercer Island.

Welcome to Bike Forums!

East Hill

True (last time I took I-90 to work, I think they were just putting those bike lanes in).
90 is a major hi-way, though. The ride around E. Lake Samamish drive is nicer, but then you have the 520 problem to contend with.
...of course there's always Lake Washington Boulevard.
Just remember to start out the day before your class and you should be fine. (kidding :D ).

...ah, these are the times we long for the days when the steamers plied the lake.
That would be the best alternative to his problem, short of moving to the U.district.


Bebop

Grad student in Moscow (Idaho), that wonderful island of Pacific Northwest vibes in the sea of North Idaho backwoodsiness. Howdy!

Octopus here, live in NE Seattle,

Hello. Bradl in Cedar Hills (OR), working downtown 1st and Arthur. 50+ and lazy, trying to get used to my first bike in decades. It's slow going ... literally. Can scarcely make it to the top of Sylvan hill at this point. Once I can do that without gasping I'll start puzzling out if and how to make the rest of the journey. Wish they'd bored a bicycle tunnel next to the MAX tunnel :p

I went to school there for a while, I feel bad for you.

Hang in
 

Bradl,

Hang in there. I got back into cycling after a decade and am 53! The first few months were tough but the more miles I logged the stronger I got.

You will come to notice after a time that you are getting stronger and faster especially if you ride the same routes week after week.

I had a goal which was the STP and so was very motivated to train as to not make a complete ass of myself. I had a great time on the STP and have found myself hooked on cycling.

Have fun, go easy on yourself, and be safe.

riversiderider

I totally agree with your sentiments about the MAX tunnel. :) I ride from downtown to Cornell and Science park a few times a month for work meetings. I certainly use the MAX for that. Also, my city bike just wasn't made for the West Hills. But since you seem determined and it is part of your regular commute, just keep at it and you'll get good at it. Everyone I've talked to who makes the commute over the hills say it was hideous the first year.

Thanks for the encouragement riversiderider and donnamb. One day at a time...

Machias, WA (unincorporated Snohomish) checking in here. My favorite ride of late is around Lake Roesinger.

It could be worse; Moscow's got what I need to survive: a farmer's market in summer and a co-op year 'round, a cheap eccentric local video store, a decent coffee shop, a respectable local bookshop, multiple local bike shops, and pretty good cycling routes (once you find the paved roads!).

Hi, new here. I live in Bend, Oregon. Just starting to get back into bicycling. My current bike is a Specialized Allez Sport, vintage 2005, which I bought in 06 at a deep discount from Hutch's Bike Shop here in Bend. I've put maybe 10 miles on the thing, but starting next week I plan to start riding it to and from work and getting in some weekend rides. Today I'm taking it over to Hutch's to have a tune up and add some accessories to the bike (i.e. bottle cages w/bottles, toolkit and bag for under seat, spare tube, pump and cycling computer. I'll have it back Thursday/Friday, and plan to do a ride on Sunday. I'm hoping to be in good enough shape by late September/early October to do some nice Fall riding. By the way, can someone tell me what the name of that cycling organization is that publishes the booklet with all the bike events throughout the summer here in the Northwest? I picked up one in 05 but I forgot the name of the organization.

Flabulouso